Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order

Johnson, Tommy

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The Chilling Sounds of a Nearly Forgotten Bluesman

Tommy Johnson drank regularly with Charley Patton, one of the patriarchs of the blues, and swore he'd met the Devil at the crossroads years before Robert Johnson (no apparent relation) did. Much of his brief career—he recorded only from 1928 to 1930—was spent either trying to score a drink in dry Southern towns or singing in the streets to earn money for the next round. The obsession with alcohol impaired Johnson's professional prospects—although he lived until 1956, his performances at house parties and clubs were notoriously erratic. But during the brief time Johnson did record, the bottle helped bring chilling realism to his art. Complete shows him as a rip-roaring entertainer whose agitated Delta guitar phrases and guttural, almost unhinged-sounding vocal shouts were galvanizing. One legend has him shout-singing for hours on end, and hearing the energy he pours into "Alcohol and Jake Blues," which commemorates a wicked bender, or "Morning Prayer Blues," which tells about the consequences, it's easy to imagine Johnson as a relentless performer who didn't know when to stop.

Heard decades later, Johnson's tales can seem like strings of commonplace blues conceits. But his delivery—the way he'd change his voice from a low moan to a ghostly high whine, all while locked into an assured, steady guitar accompaniment—was hugely influential, an inspiration for Howlin' Wolf, Otis Spann, and many others. Johnson never made a "definitive" record, yet his legend lives on as one of those rousing, almost scary figures who left an impression on everyone who heard him.

Genre: Blues
Released: 2000, Document
Key Tracks: "Cool Drink of Water Blues," "Maggie Campbell," "Canned Heat Blues," "Alcohol and Jake Blues."
Next Stop: Howlin' Wolf: Moanin' in the Moonlight
After That: Blind Willie McTell: The Definitive
Book Page: 405

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